Lions continue Thanksgiving tradition

DETROIT, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The Detroit Lions, who first played football on Thanksgiving Day in 1934, will do so again Thursday in hopes of winning for the first time this season.

Detroit has lost 12 consecutive games dating back to the final week of the 2007 season and the Lions have dropped 18 out of 19 in a skid that began prior to Thanksgiving last year.

The Lions will host the Tennessee Titans in the first of the three holiday NFL matchups. Tennessee is coming off its first setback of the year.

Thursday's games continue a pro football tradition that began in 1920, when six contests took place on Thanksgiving.

Detroit, which has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game every year since 1945, has lost four straight on the holiday.

The Dallas Cowboys, who made their initial Thanksgiving appearance in 1966, will host the Seattle Seahawks. The NFL added a third holiday game in 2006 and this year's extra attraction will be Arizona at Philadelphia.